


Bad luck

by BezKa



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, M/M, No Codex Umbra AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, William is an idiot, Wilson is an idiot, different kind of magic, werecat Wilson au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27005710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BezKa/pseuds/BezKa
Summary: William's train is stuck in the middle of nowhere. Might as well check the forest.Hopefully, he doesn't find anything cursed within.
Relationships: Maxwell/Wilson (Don't Starve), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It was a quick fluffy fic for a friend but it evolved

William was just as down on his luck as he was since the day he was born. The train he was traveling in has almost crashed, and the emergency stop was declared to be extended- in the middle of nowhere, they were told about a small town behind a forest. So part of the travelers went down overgrown paths, and part stayed with their saved food rations. William was one of the people who had their food packaged and ready whenever, but he was just so bored he couldn’t handle sitting in the stationary vehicle.   
  
He started gathering his coat and small case, which didn’t go unnoticed by Charlie.   
  
“Where are you going?”  
  
“Out- just for a stroll. I’ve been sitting for hours now and I need to stretch my legs. Would you like to join me?” William did his best to be a gentleman- and having Charlie with him to talk away from strangers would be quite nice.  
  
“Oh, I actually thought of taking a nap if you don’t mind. Now that the train isn’t jostling so much… or at all.” It was like her to refuse him properly. He cursed in his mind, of course she was vary of him- he might be lanky and weak, but perhaps inviting a woman that you knew from work for only several weeks out to the forest in the middle of nowhere wasn’t his brightest idea.   
  
“Okay then- I should be back in an about three hours or so. Certainly before nightfall”  
  
“Enjoy your walk then”  
  
Awkward. He left without another word, either red from embarrassment or pale from stress.   
  
\-------------------------

His stroll was certainly pleasant, finally being able to breathe some cold air, away from people coughing and warming the tight compartment. Birds of course sang away, some animals probably hid away and lived peacefully away from people. He wasn’t heading in any particular direction, neither he had any destination. Maybe he’ll stumble upon the village mentioned by one of the conductors, or maybe he’ll reach the edge of the forest to look at some fields. Either outcome would be good for him, he pondered as he walked above a bush, scratching his legs a bit.   
  
He was surprised by reaching a path. It was small and beaten, too narrow for a car to pass but clearly used. Well, William was not one to shy away from adventure- he suspected that turning left will lead him to the small town, because that’s the direction other train boarders took, so he went right instead.   
  
On his way was nothing out of ordinary, the trees mostly tall evergreens, and he walked for half an hour when the path started getting steep. Was he on a mountain trail? He didn’t see any signs. He might go a while longer but he wanted to avoid getting lost in the hills.   
  
Soon enough however, he reached a small wooden shack, surrounded by signs that spelled mostly about the place being a private property. One of them however caught his eyes- “GENIUS AT WORK” was enough to make him want to enter. What sort of experiments were happening in the middle of the woods?   
  
A brief moment when his conscience screamed of axe-killers and abandoned houses collapsing on people’s heads went away when he heard a small crash in the building. It seemed empty, but now he really wanted to meet the person inside. He didn’t know why, perhaps the hours long travel just blurred his rational thinking to this degree.   
  
So he opened the squeaky fence that was built around the small house and carefully knocked on the door. He received no response, and after trying several more times, the door opened on it’s own, the lock giving out. He jumped away, but then carefully glanced inside. It was dark and empty, though clearly inhabited- there was no dust and the scarce furniture looked worn but not destroyed by mold or animals.   
  
Except for the couch, that looked scratched at the bottom with claws and worn out in one place, covered in black fur. Did this person own a cat?  
  
His question was immediately answered by a meow from below, where a fairly small but adult cat was sitting, it’s long fur all over the place, staring at him with sharp yellow eyes.   
  
He stared right back, and slowly crouched to reach his hand out. The cat did not move, just kept staring him straight in the eyes, and William had an unnerving feeling the cat was angry at him, despite not hissing or showing teeth or anything- but William never had much interactions with cats. He had no idea how to judge the animal’s body language.  
  
It turned out to be pretty easy, as the black monstrosity jumped on his face with a yowl and started clawing at his scalp and biting his nose.  
  
\----------------------  
  
Pure panic and instinct drove William as he stumbled back and started ripping the animal off his face. It gripped tightly, hissing the entire time and hooking it’s claws in his hair. Sharp pain exploded in several places at once- his bent ankle, scratched lines on his head and his poor, poor nose, that was still stuck in tight jaws of the demon. He trashed and screamed, threw himself onto his knees and tried to grab the paws to unhook the sharp nails from his skin.  
  
Finally, finally the beast let go, slowly losing it’s strength as it focused on his wrists instead, trying to make him let go of it’s back, as he clenched it’s chest and nape, panting deeply. He felt blood trickling down his neck, his head pulsing and adrenaline pumping. The room was slowly tilting to one side and he shook his head to make it stabilize- it wouldn’t work for a good minute, but slowly as he came down from his high, he managed to look up at the black monster. It seemed to give up on biting his hands, instead struggling to find any way of escaping his grip- he just clenched his hands more, which got him a loud and angry response.   
  
William’s glasses fell somewhere along the way, but he still could see perfectly well the slit eyes of the angry cat, that looked about ready to pass out while still giving him the biggest glare it could muster.   
  
This is not the adventure William was signing up for. He expected to see a deer, maybe meet the man living in the crap shack, not to fight with devil incarnate. William didn’t believe any stupid superstitions about black cats bringing bad luck, but this one might be an exception.   
  
He carefully got up, his ankle sore, and went to search for the owner of both the house and the cursed cat. He kept his grip on the cat tight and glanced at it every now and then, making sure it won’t escape. He didn’t win a fight against the small demon to have it just run away.   
  
He walked into the first room he found, which turned out to be a kitchen. There was no one there, of course, and it seemed unused for at least a week. The dishes were clean and the fridge seemed disconnected from the outlet- he dared to let go of the cat with one hand and open it. It was empty- not a crumb of food to be found inside. He found however a remotely clean towel, which he used to wiped the blood off his head. He really didn’t want it to get infected. Wetting it in the sink, he made sure to clean all the cuts he could feel. They weren’t as deep as he expected them to be- the cat must have not been as diligent with sharpening it’s claws as it should.  
  
He left the room with the sinking worry that the house might be abandoned after all- what if he finds a body somewhere? He does not want to be suspected of murder. As if he didn’t have enough problems with debts. Another room was open- he glanced to see someone’s bedroom, the bed in disarray, as if someone just got up and didn’t bother making it. There was nothing else in the room except for a small cabinet, which he respectfully didn’t touch. Outside the room was only one more thing.  
  
The ladder was made so it was easy to access without using hands, but still couldn’t be called a staircase. The trapdoor above it was closed, and he was afraid of what he might find there. But wasn’t that snooping around by now? William did not want to be rude, but it was quite obvious the house was empty.   
  
No use holding the damn cat then. He better just let it go and it will hopefully run somewhere far and never come close to him again. He stepped back to the war ground, and found his glasses, stared at the cat that dangled angrily from his hand and just let it go. It yelped and swung itself around, then landed on it’s feet and with few quick jumps was standing on the couch, back arched and fur bristled. It didn’t go for him again though, so he decided he was safe enough.   
  
Slowly, he climbed the ladder and opened the door- he found himself in some sort of attic, turned into a workshop. As he looked around, he found multiple glass bottles of different shapes, books and various trinkets on the bookshelves, a fake skeleton hanging on some pipes connected to imitate some sort of stand, a desk covered in stains and some tools he didn’t know the use for.   
  
And of course, no one inside the room. Great.   
  
After he climbed back down and closed the trapdoor behind him, he noticed the cat sitting in the middle of his path, staring at him accusingly. He raised his hands, ready for the strike- that however seemed to satisfy the cat, and it got up wobbly and jumped back on the couch, laying with it’s back to him. Letting out a tired sigh, he sat down as well, ignoring the cat just as it ignored him.   
  
Not for long, it turns out. It laid on it’s side, it’s ears raised high and tail flicking- it’s eyes first boring into him, then slowly moving towards the suitcase he dropped in the entrance. William followed it’s eyes and remembered about his food- better to eat it now, that he has where to sit, in a fairly lone place. So with few quick steps he grabbed the case and returned, opening it to get his sandwich, which he bought from a pastry near the station before they departed. Before he could fully uncover it from the paper it was packaged into, he heard a soft meow from his side.   
  
The cat looked as if he was holding half a pig in his lap all prepared as an offering to it, instead of a slightly dry ham sandwich. The cat then glanced at him, but quickly returned it’s stare to the bundle William planned on enjoying.   
  
Was the cat all alone here for so long? It didn’t look like a wild cat, and the house didn’t have any adjustments like bowls or cat scratchers. Was it even it’s home?   
  
Pathetic meow and giant pleading eyes broke him out of the trance. He mindlessly ripped part of the sandwich off and gave it to the cat. He didn’t receive any from of thank you, instead a graze of teeth as the cat decided to swallow the bit whole, only to gag and back off a bit to chew properly. William shook his head and got to eating.   
  
He received the pleading stares every two minutes until the sandwich was gone. Then, the cat carefully climbed onto his lap and started prodding at the suitcase.  
  
“There’s nothing else there, pal. Sorry”  
  
To his shock, the cat paused and turned it’s face to him. It seemed to stare into his eyes a lot. Then it stepped few times in place and slowly laid down, not breaking eye contact. When he let it without any fight, it slowly relaxed. Only now William actually understood how thin the creature was- it weighed almost nothing and it’s chest was actually digging into his legs. His! The man known from being too thin for it to be healthy!  
  
William looked around the house, and considered his options. He couldn’t leave the cat there, it clearly wouldn’t get by on it’s own.   
  
But he had his own problems, and no animal likes traveling from one place to another and no stability. He didn’t have enough money to pay Charlie for her work, and barely scraped by on his own. He couldn’t adopt a cat, it was simply not within his realm of possibility.   
  
His thighs were getting comfortably warm, he noted. Will Charlie believe him when he tells her what happened? He looked at the cat again. It was slowly dozing off, completely silent and unmoving.   
  
William battled with his thoughts. The cat will probably starve in this house. If not that, some wild animal might come in and-

William shuddered. He knows it’s how nature works but he can’t bring himself to think about stuff like that.

So far he only got bad reasons for leaving or taking the cat. Are there good sides?

Well, not letting it starve is a good side. He can also train the cat- possibly. Maybe it can help him with his shows? He can use it instead of a rabbit-

He quickly discarded this thought, remembering the viciousness of the beast. Doesn’t cancel any other options though.

William looked at the cat again. Slowly and carefully, he put his palm on it’s nape. It jolted slightly and looked through the sleepy mist at him, then settled. He pet it with slow, long strokes.   
  
Then, he picked up the cat, and with the lack of protests from it, tucked it into the inside pocket of his coat and left the wooden cabin.


	2. Wake me up inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cat wakes up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a while. Hope it's good enough

Wilson was so warm. He felt like he was encompassed in some sort of cocoon, heating him up from every direction, slowly moving in both arrhythmic swishes and repeated jolts. His fur was electrified and sticking to the cloth around him, and he couldn’t contain the soft purring. His fur was usually enough to keep him reasonably warm, but as it got colder he missed external sources of heat.

He stretched delightfully, for once not feeling as hungry and finally well rested. Something from outside his small heaven prodded him on the legs that stretched the thin material. He tucked them back in and smushed his face in them. God, his hair was always fabulous- he won’t let anyone ever tell him otherwise.

Somewhere far away, in the back of his mind, a thought appeared and swam softly to his gut- slowly, steadily, he felt the feeling grow and the alarm that was silent before started ringing as he realized something was wrong.

Honestly, it’s impressive it took him that long to understand he was abducted. As his senses rapidly dialed from 2 to 20 he was clearly overwhelmed with several realizations at once: he was in someone’s pocket, the warmth was their body heat, the rhythmic jolts were train wheels hitting the connecting junctions of the tracks and he was most likely too far from home to find his way back and he was starved with no way to turn back and he was on a fucking train-

He thrashed wildly, trying to search for an opening- he wasn’t stupid, as soon as he felt some support under his legs he shot upwards, and to his delight, swiftly escaped the pocket. But obviously, it had to be the inside pocket of a coat and now he was trapped between the warm body and the piece of wardrobe. Desperately searching for an opening while the person holding him doubled over trying to contain him, grabbing at the fabric from the outside, he decided that way up is always good. If the coat is closed, he’s small enough to crawl out through the collar, and maybe slit the throat of his captor on the way-

Turns out it wasn’t a necessity, because the coat was ripped open by the man himself and Wilson followed his instinct, bounced off the guy and out to the air, about to run wherever he could. He couldn’t have expected to fall on another body instead, this time of a female sitting across the kidnapper, and she was probably shocked or in on the deal because she grabbed him tightly and it was just his luck she managed to grab his front legs as well. She held them up while grabbing at his chest, disabling him from any chance of biting or scratching her. His back legs dangled in the air and he waved them for support but couldn’t muster enough strength to raise them to her hand. Just great.

So he settled for glaring angrily and waiting for her to loosen the grip so he can slip out his paws and with some quick clawwork get out of here and…

And what? He was on a damn train. He had nowhere to go, unless he planned to jump out of the speeding vehicle. He glanced around the compartment- there weren’t any other passengers outside of the lady and his captor.

And his kidnapper was no one other than Mister Long-Legs, still with a bite mark on his nose and slightly bloody hair. His face portrayed pure panic and his hands were outstretched as if he wanted to catch him. Pf, human reflexes are so slow.

As his anger turned from boiling to slowly sizzling in the background, he finally heard the conversation that was happening while the guy tried to take him from woman’s hands, attempting to grab him in some way then giving up and trying another.  
  


“-I am _so_ so sorry Charlie, I told you it’s aggressive but I didn’t expect it to just _jump_ at you like that-”

  
  
“William! Calm down! You’re no help if you’re panicking like that, you’re stressing it out even more.”

“Right, right, did it calm down already? We don’t want anyone coming in and finding it, the pets should be in their carriers-”  
  


“William, look at me-”

  
“God, it was sleeping before, how are we supposed to get it off the train when it won’t go back in the pocket-”  
  
Huh. Apparently this William guy is new to the business. Shouldn’t they sedate him or something?  
  
Wait. They didn’t?  
  
Oh god. If Wilson could blush like that, he would be completely red. He’s a damn idiot, he just went to sleep on this damn stranger’s lap, just because he got some bread! _And the delicious ham,_ his traitorous instinct supplied, and he bared his teeth at the thought. _Stupid. Idiot!_ He was starved, sleep deprived and he just saw the man through a pink lens for five minutes and suddenly it’s fine to fall asleep on him!  
  
But that raises another question- is he actually being kidnapped? Well, obviously, he’s away from his home without consent. But at the same time, the chances of someone knowing what he was were very low. The only people who knew was his mother, dead father and pen-pal Woodie, so unless someone dug through his mail, no one should suspect anything.

Was the man simply so soft-hearted to just take him? Did he think he’s a stray? God. He wouldn’t be exactly wrong, Wilson didn’t belong to anyone after all. He was his own and people can fuck right off.

He was woken up from his daze as the man finally decided to grab him with his (huge!) hands and delicately put on his lap again. Wilson didn’t protest, but he did stumble- his front paws had already gotten sore from tight grip of the Charlie woman. Heh, you could say he got Charlie horse.

Well, if they don’t know, it’s best to not reveal it- let them take him to the station where he can transform-

Shit. He still can’t transform. And it might be months until he finally can again.  
  
That’s what you get for not eating enough and missing sleep for weeks straight. His body just decided on it’s own to switch to more energy efficient mode and actually block him from any way to get food. The town was miles away- and he knew what was the residents’ approach to animals. He saw people chasing cats off and someone even pulling a gun on one. And they considered _him_ crazy.

He was once again brought back from his mind tangent by William. He pet his back softly, and whispered carefully.  
  
“Are you alright now? Is everything good? I know you were are all scared but it’s fine now…”  
  
Wilson couldn’t stop himself and rolled his eyes. Nothing was alright.

William grabbed him again. Carefully, but what does it matter?! Wilson hates being manhandled. He struggled a little, just to make a point.  
  
“That’s right, come here, we’ll get you somewhere calm and safe soon, we’ll get you something to eat and everything will be fine” William continued his baby talk and Wilson did not appreciate it in the slightest. But he can’t fight anymore, he feels weak already, all the energy he got from his small meal and rest gone, and though he didn’t feel like sleeping again, he certainly didn’t feel like fighting.  
  
Soon, he found himself in the very same pocket he escaped from, his shed fur still sticking to the walls of his confinement. He settled with a dissatisfied grumble and opted to listen to the conversation happening literally beside him.  
  
“What now William? You got yourself a very aggressive male.”  
  
“It’s male?”  
  
“I used to own a cat, I know how to spot a difference.”  
  
Did Charlie look at his goddamn balls? No, that’s not important, better-  
  
“We should castrate it”  
  
Wilson had to stop himself from jerking out of the coat again. God, NO! What did he do to deserve this?!  
  
“Charlie, we don’t have money for stuff like that. We need to focus on our show, we can’t even settle down for now-”  
  
“Then why did you pick it up? William, you know our situation isn’t good, if we’re going to make it big we can’t take care of a stray…” Charlie was speaking softly and Wilson almost felt bad for the guy. Wilson did probably look like some picture from a poster about animal abuse, and Mister Long-Legs just wanted to be nice. But from what they were saying, they were in a bad situation themselves, and by extension, might get Wilson in real trouble. Like tying to a rock and throwing in a lake kind of trouble. Or giving him away to someone. Who knows what will happen there? Maybe it will be a household with a child. Wilson’s fur bristled at the thought alone.

Honestly, his best bet would be to stay with the duo. They should probably provide him enough food for some time, and then he can find a way to return home. And return the favor, of course, maybe in some sort of gift. He snorted. Maybe a dead mouse will do. Wilson wasn’t above hunting after all.

The cat remembered about the people he was eaves-dropping on (does it even count?), but it seemed tall guy was struggling with his answer.

In the end, William only sighed. They seemed to cut the discussion there and the silence spread.

* * *

When they reached their station almost at sunrise due to the complications, William made sure to hold his coat pocket from outside, ensuring the cat won’t escape. He doesn’t need it to run out now, straight onto the tracks. He went with Charlie to get their baggage, then they hovered above the map next to a streetlamp to check how to get to their hotel room. William had enough money to get them a reservation- his next show was in a small theater and the place he managed to find would be perfect for two people, and as far as he knew, there were no rules about pets.

After they finally decided on a path to get them to their rest point, the sun was already rising, casting an unnerving glow over the city. They went on their way, the cat struggling in his pocket from time to time.

Speaking about the cat- he should probably name it somehow.  
  
“Say Charlie, what is a good name for a cat?”  
  
Charlie just sighed, then shot him a pitiful look “You know that if you name it you won’t be able to part with it?”  
  
“Isn’t that the point?”  
  
“William, do you even understand what you’re getting into? I can see you want to care for it. What if you won’t be able to?”  
  
William regretted he started the topic. It felt strangely as if he was listening to his own mother- giving him talks about responsibility, making sure he thought again about almost everything… It awoke some weird need in him, to say no, to rebel, to be rude just for the sake of it. He felt like a teenager again- why would he treat his assistant like that? But he could lie to himself all he wanted, not to Charlie though. The woman was clever and quick, she knew more about him than he probably did already. So if she needs a sure response, he will give it to her.

“I’m keeping it. I always liked animals and this one is… makes me feel like a witch. Which is basically the same as magician! You get it, right?” his fake enthusiasm hurt his own ears. How pathetic.  
  
From the look on her face it was obvious she didn’t get it at all. If anything, her eyes filled with even more pity. God, William was so awkward. How did Jack manage to find a wife? How does he talk to people and do it well enough to get along with somebody to the point of marriage, while William can’t even confirm he can take care of a simple house pet?

William decided to distract himself with thoughts of a name for the black beast. Something that would portray it’s vicious character while not making it seem evil. Multiple ideas bounced around his head, but none of them seemed appropriate. Finally, he recalled a distant memory, of his father coming back from the store on his and Jack’s birthday and giving them very particular sweets. He smiled slightly. Perfect.


End file.
